Hey all

Have convinced the gf to go on an african safari for this coming xmas... OMG !

Anyway, am now trying to find the destination and outfitter, and would appreciate your ideas and any experiences

Country: I think Benin and Cameroon are open for xmas (ideally would go 22 Dec - 2nd Jan), don't really know about southern countries? (going to South Africa in a few weeks for plains game)

This would be my 7th african safari, so am looking for something new

Budget: would be willing to go USD 10 - 15K including trophy fees (excluding airfare)

Any and all info very much welcome / appreciated!

Dugong

Check your PM's.

Thanks!

Greg

As far as the Southern countries, Christmas would not be my choice for going; pretty much end of the season and hot too. You might get some good deals just because it is the end of the season and some would have quotas left over that they need to fill.

quote:

Originally posted by RBHunt:
As far as the Southern countries, Christmas would not be my choice for going; pretty much end of the season and hot too. You might get some good deals just because it is the end of the season and some would have quotas left over that they need to fill.

RBHunt

You are correct but it would not be the heat but more the rains that could be a problem.

I think for that time of year you'd be best with a west African country, Tanzania, or Ethiopia. All of these options would require a larger budget.

I hunted Cameroon (Faro West, Pierre Guerini) for the Savannah species (no eland) for not much more cash than you are talking about. However, that was six years ago and the dollar is now much weaker than the Euro. We actually paid in dollars. With today's exchange rate, you will not get much bang for your buck in countries that price their hunts in euros.

You MIGHT be able to get a weeks hunt in Cameroon for the small species (no buff, no roan) for your budget. You could hunt the duikers, bushbuck, hartebeest, reedbuck, oribi, kob, etc. The only things really off limits would be LD eland, buffalo, and roan.

Benefit of Cameroon over some of the other equitorial areas is the availability of domestic air transportation. You can fly Cameroon Air (AKA Sometimes Air) to Garoua, which is the kick off for many northern Cameroon hunts. CAR, for example, has NO feasible internal transporation other than charters, which would crush your budget.

Here are some of my trophies. Couldn't lay hands on a picture of the kob.

I did exactly that, a Christmas and New Years in the bush. Go to reports and read mine. "Cameroon trip Dec. 17, 2008 - Jan. 7, 2009. The bushbuck tied for #6.

Do it. It was one of my greatest memories.